


Night Terrors

by TRMGee



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Blood and Gore in dreams, Egbert/Harley/Crocker/English cousins can't see for shit., Eventually the trolls come in, F/F, F/M, God Tier (Homestuck), HalJake is a thing but its pitch i swear, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Page of Hope fucks some shit up by accident, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, SBURB (Homestuck), Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24502990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TRMGee/pseuds/TRMGee
Summary: Jake English hates going to sleep. He especially hates what follows afterward. Something is happening, he's seeing all these strange visions, dark dystopian dreams of his friends, all gruesome and dark. It doesn't make it better when he sees this strange girl and her brother in their weird shop, getting told something big is about to go down. Timelines are messy, and his just got royally fucked.
Relationships: Auto-Responder | Lil Hal/Jake English, Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Jake English/Dirk Strider, Jane Crocker/Roxy Lalonde, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam
Kudos: 27





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah, uhm, this idea came to me in a fever dream. The hope aspect is closely related to an open ending, unlike rage, so the idea is that although Jake isn't in the sburb game timeline(s), it still is effecting him somehow and showing him all the endings, and by all, I mean ALL.

_“You want a bloody kiss? You got it!”_

_Jake looked at the head in his hands. Dirk, his pal, his chum. Jake pulled his face closer and closer, lips almost touching._

Jake’s eyes shot open, sweat dripping off of him. He panted a bit, sitting up and running his hands through his hair. What in the world was that dream? Jake rubbed his eyes and felt his hands come away wet. Was he crying? There was movement beside him. He looked over to see Bec, his and, his cousin, Jade’s golden retriever, sticking his head up. He can tell Jake is worried.

Jake patted the bed closer to him. Bec dragged himself over and Jake pet him, scratching his ears occasionally.

“See? I’m fine Bec. No need to worry about jolly ol’ Jake here.” He smiled down at the dog who happily took the affection. Jake looked at the time. It was about 6, time to get up and get ready. Jake stretched out a bit, groaning. “Another day, another adventure. Ready Bec?” Bec barked happily, tail swaying side to side. Jake slipped out of bed and opened the curtains, looking outside at the forest behind the house. A smile spread across his face.

“I have a good feeling about today Bec. I have a really good feeling.”

* * *

Jake fixed his already messy hair in the mirror, straightening his glasses. Jade walked in and giggled. “You missed a spot!” She walked up to him and helped straighten it mostly before messing it up again. Jake stuck his tongue out at her, which she returned as she brushed her hair. Jake fixed it again and left the main bathroom area, heading to the kitchen. He could smell something good and laughed a bit. 

“Janey! Are you cooking pancakes!” Jake bursts in to see Jane, indeed, cooking pancakes while John is sitting on the counter, drinking milk straight from the carton. Jake stormed up to him and snatched it. “JOHN WE DON’T DRINK STRAIGHT FROM THE CARTON WHAT ARE WE ANIMALS!” Jane started to laugh as John got a bit of milk on him, coughing. 

“Jake! Rude! You don’t just steal a man’s drink while he’s chugging!” Jake rolled his eyes and cleaned off the top of the carton, putting it back in the fridge. John cleaned himself up as Jade bounded down into the kitchen, smiling. Jane stacked all the pancakes and set the plate in the center of the table. The four of them all sat down and started eating. Laughs were shared and smiles could be seen all over the table. Jake loved to see his friends, no, his family, all so happy. It was his favorite thing to see.

As he enjoyed a breakfast with the ones he loved, Jake had no idea everything was going to be different, that the people here with him were all going to change, and they would not get to have these moments for a long time.


	2. Social anxiety leads to some odd places

Jake tossed John his bag and John caught it, tossing it over his shoulder. “Thanks ‘Dad’!” John laughed as he ran out to meet up with his friends. Jade ran after, but Jake stopped her. She groaned. 

“Jakey! Not again!” Jade whined as Jake fixed her hair.

“It’s not my fault it gets so messy. And you almost forgot these.” Jake handed her a headband with Dog ears. Jade laughed and took them.

“Without you, I’d lose my head. Thanks!” She ran after John, shouting for him to wait up. Jane walked over and messed the British boy’s hair up.

“You are such a dad to us all.” Jane laughed a bit and Jake rolled his eyes, smiling. He wiped off some batter that was on Jane’s face.

“And you wonder why. You’d all fall apart without good ol me!” Jane laughed as Jake handed her the keys to the car. She tossed them in her purse and fixed her glasses. “Stay safe out there Jane. Don’t speed or crash my baby.” Jane raised an eyebrow.

“Your Baby? I believe that we share that car.” Jake rolled his eyes as Jane walked out to the car. He waved as she left, and she honked at him. “DON’T STAY INSIDE ALL DAY!” Jake rolled his eyes again and shut the door. Bec barked at him and he turned. Bec was scratching at the back door, wanting out. Jake chuckled and opened the door. 

“Have fun Bec.” Bec bounded outside and Jake shut the door. He checked his phone to see a post from Roxy on instagump. Its a selfie of them and Dirk with the caption _‘Waiting for Janey for the movies!’_ under it. Jake smiled for a moment, before getting a text. He checked it to see Roxy texting him.

 _‘Hey Jakey! You sure you don’t wanna come??’_ Jake sighed as he sat on the couch, texting back as he turned on the TV.

 _‘Yeah. Jane just left and you know I don’t do well in crowded places Roxy. People and I don’t mix.’_ He put on Avatar again, for what seemed like the thousandth time. He smiled as it loaded up. His phone buzzed again.

 _‘Fiiiine I'll let you have a pass this time, but we will be taking you out of that house one day, and not just for a forest adventure again, even though those are fun.’_ Jake laughed a bit, recalling one of their last adventures. Jane had pushed Dirk into a lake and they all eventually ended up in the lake, all drenched in water. It was fun.

 _‘I’ll hold you to it, Roxy.’_ Jake heard Bec scratch at the door again and let him back in. They relaxed on the couch, watching movies for a couple of hours before Jake got an idea. Pulling out his phone, He texted Dirk, his close friend. 

_‘Dirk, wanna hang out tonight?’_ Jake turned off his phone after the message, smiling brightly. He was gonna ask to hang out in public for once. Jake didn’t enjoy crowds normally, but with Dirk, things were different. He was safe. He was okay. He was calm. His phone buzzed.

 _‘I would, but I promised Dave I’d come with him and his friends. Roxy and Jane are coming with. We were gonna go to the amusement park since tonight they decided to keep it open late.’_ Jake felt his heart sink. Amusement park. With everyone else. Why didn’t they tell him? Jane must’ve forgotten to mention it. Jake texted back.

 _‘Ah, I see. Okay. Have fun.’_ Jake tossed his phone onto the couch beside him. His face felt hot. Something wet rolled down his cheek. He felt his face. He was crying. Come on English, don’t cry. Don’t cry dammit. Soon he was a mess, crying and sobbing. This wasn’t the first time. And Jake made sure to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. He just wished he could be normal. Just an average guy with his amazing friends going on fun hangouts and making long-lasting memories. Bec whined and nuzzled him. He pet Bec, smiling.

“I’m fine Bec. I’m… I’m…” He broke down again, holding Bec close. He was like this for a long time but finally calmed down. He looked at his phone and stood. “You know what, I am fine. I’m… I’m gonna go out. Alone. I can do this. I’m Jake Freaking English! I can do anything if I believe hard enough!” Jake grabbed his phone and got changed into fresh clothes. He pets Bec and set out some food. “I’ll be back soon. Just gonna go out for a bit.” Jake smiled and left the house, locking the door. He started to walk into town.

Walking through town, he felt calm for once. Sure, there were a ton of people and he felt a little offset but he was confident he could spend at least 2 hours out of the house alone. He smiled and kept walking. Soon, he ran across a place that caught his eye. A small store, The Lord Of Time, with a strange feeling coming from it. It was open, and Jake felt like walking in. Jake mustered up his courage and walked in. He looked around. It was a store with a variety of strange oddities. Clocks, stones, weapons? It was random stuff, but it was… kinda cool? At the counter was a boy, probably 17, John’s age, with bright red eyes and obviously dyed green hair. He was wearing a classic red shirt with a strange gear symbol on it. He had on green suspenders and was looking into his phone, bored. He heard Jake come in and looked up at him. Their eyes met and the boy groaned, putting his phone down.

“Welcome to Lord of Time, a store of oddities from across reality and beyond. We offer relics, prophecies, fortunes, the works. My name is Caliborn, how may I help you.” Caliborn spoke, venom seeping into his words. He wasn’t happy to have a customer. Jake forced out a smile.

“O-oh. I don’t think I need help… actually, can I get a prophecy?” The adventurer in Jake poked its way out. Prophecies led to adventures, great ones, right? Caliborn looked back behind the curtain behind him. 

“CALLIOPE! YOU HAVE A CUSTOMER!” A tall girl walked out, smiling brightly. She had long curly platinum blonde hair with a light green tint to it. Her green eyes sparkled when she saw Jake.

“Oh boy! Follow me!” She came out from behind the counter and led Jake to a back room. Her black dress swayed and bounced as she walked. Jake pushed past the curtain and looked at the room. It was dark, lit by candles all over. There was a table in the center and a dish of strange water sat in the center. Calliope sat on one side. Jake took a seat across from her. The tapestry behind her has a cool planet looking thing surrounded by zodiac signs and other weird symbols. A heart, wings, one that looked like a plant, swirls, and more. He looked at the girl sitting across from him and noticed she was shuffling cards.

“Two sets of cards, if your wondering. One with 12, the other 14. We will start with the 12 one.” She held up a deck of 12 cards. “These are called the Aspects. There are 12, each meaning something different.” She handed them to him. “Shuffle them.”

“Oh, alright.” He smiled and started shuffling them.

“Now, you look like you have a big group of friends or a closely-knit one. How many of you are there?” Jake kept his eyes on the cards and answered. 

“In total? 8 including me.” Calliope nodded. 

“Layout 8 cards face down and don’t touch them after.” Jake did as he was told. He handed the remaining ones back to Calliope. “Now repeat that with these, the Class cards.” He shuffled them, then dispersed 8 of them on the aspect cards already placed. “Good! You’re doing great. Now on the first deck, place your hand on them and say the name of one of your friends. Then turn it over. Do this with all of them.” Jake placed his hand on the first deck.

“John Egbert.” He turned it over. The cards read ‘Heir’ and ‘Breath’. He moved to the next one. “Jade Harley.” ‘Witch’ and ‘Space’. “Jane Crocker.” ‘Maid’ and ‘Life’. “Dirk Strider” ‘Prince’ and ‘Heart’. “Dave Strider” ‘Knight’ and ‘Time’. “Rose Lalonde.” ‘Seer’ and ‘Light’. “Roxy Lalonde.” ‘Rogue’ and ‘Void’. Jake looked at Calliope.

“The last one is yours. Say your name and turn it over.” Jake looks at the deck.

“Jake English.” He turned the cards over. ‘Page’ and ‘Hope’. The wings. He looked back at Calliope. “What does any of this mean?”

“Simple, Mr. English.” She poked the dish and ripples formed. “It’s a prophecy. We’ve been waiting for you to come here.” Jake looked at the dish and his eyes widened. His friends were at the festival, all having fun. “These are your friends, correct?” Jake nodded. “Well, they seem to be having fun. But look closely.” Jake looked closer and say each of the symbols he revealed was matching those that his friends had. John had just gotten a shirt with that wind pattern on it. Dave had a DJ bear with the time turntables. Roxy had a flower pin with that spiral, along with Jade. Jane had on earings with that plant one. Rose’s book had the sun on it. Dirk walked over to the group with a heart pillow and he was talking to them. Jake couldn’t hear them, but they all were excited about something. The pillow had small angel wings on it too.

“How…” 

“There are bigger things at work here Jake. You came looking for adventure, here it is. John will show signs of his powers soon. You best be getting home now.” Calliope stood. Jake stood. 

“But what do these mean? Page? Hope? What are they?” Calliope just walked out. Jake sighed and went to the counter. Caliborn raised an eyebrow. “How much did that cost.

“Oh, that was free. Calliope said that, didn’t she?” Jake shook his head, gave up, and left. He ran a hand through his hair, fixing his glasses. 

‘You came looking for adventure, here it is.’

“It’s getting late… I should head home.” He walked home, humming softly under his breath. He opened the door to the house. Bec pounced on him and he laughed. “Heya Bec! Have you been a good girl?” Bec barked loudly and licked Jake’s face (and glasses), making the brit laugh again. “Easy girl. Let’s get you fed.” Bec and Jake went over to the food dishes and Jake fed her. The sound of cars pulling up outside grew louder and Jake sighed. “Eat up Bec. I’m gonna go upstairs.” Jake walked upstairs. He heard the front door open and his friends' voices filled the house. Jake tossed off his coat and changed into sweat pants. He messed his hair up a bit and promptly fell back on the bed. He pulled out his phone. Nothing. There was a soft rapping at his door. Jade.

“Jaaaake! I know you aren’t asleep you night owl! Come out!” Jake got up and opened the door. Jade smiled and fixed his hair. “Did you go on another adventure?” Jake chuckled and nodded. Jade pulled him downstairs and he fixed his hair on the way down. Everyone was there. Dirk looked over at him and a smile crossed their faces. Dirk walked over to Jake and hugged him.

“Hey, babe.” Jake hugged back, receiving a kiss on the cheek from his boyfriend. Jake blushed and Dirk nuzzled him lightly. 

“Diiiirk. Stop your smothering meeee.” Jake laughed. Dirk rolled his eyes under his shades. 

“You love it, Jake.” Jake ‘glared’ at Dirk. 

“Hmph. Fine. You’re right.” Dirk smiled a bit more. 

“Dirk *COUGH* Present *COUGH* Now.” Roxy glared at him. Dirk’s attention went to the bombshell blonde.

“Right, of course.” He grabbed the pillow and handed it to Jake. Jake smiled brightly.

“Dirk! This is adorable!” Dirk blushed ever so slightly. Jake hugged it into his chest. Dave walks over and leans down a bit. 

“You know, you two look like awkward smitten teenagers.” Dirk elbowed him and Dave chuckled, walking back over to Rose and Jade. Jake laughed a bit, smiling at his boyfriend. 

“Anyway, I’m sorry we didn’t get to hang out. Maybe we could hang out another time?” Dirk suggested. Jake nodded quickly. 

“I’d love that Dirk. Thank you.” Dirk kissed his forehead and Jake’s face turned deep red. Dave was right. They were two smitten teenagers.


	3. Who knew timelines colliding could be so pretty

Jake’s eyes fluttered open, feeling warmth around him. He let out a small yawn and looked behind him. Dirk was holding him close, shades off and looking peaceful. Smiling, Jake turned over and stared at Dirk for a bit. It had been a while since he had seen Dirk without his shades. He loved the way he looked without them. His tan and freckles landed around where he always wore them, adding more character to his eyes. Dirk made a small groan and slowly opened his eyes. A soft smile crossed the adventurer’s face. 

“Morning Jakey…” Dirk gave him a sleepy grin.

“Morning Dirk. How’d you sleep?” Jake asked, kissing the bridge of his nose.

“Good, how about you Jake?” Dirk raised an eyebrow as he asked. Jake forced his smile to stay.

To be honest, he had a horrible nightmare. He’d been having more and more lately. The ones before were of his friends fighting, but this one was different. The memory seemed burned into his eyes whenever they closed.

_Jake felt the 3 prongs of the trident push through his back, screwing him through. He saw light, living hope, then it faded as the words “Hold on a little while longer Jake!” echoed through his head. He could of sworn it was Dirk’s voice as he slowly faded into unconsciousness._

But he couldn’t tell Dirk that. That Calliope girl was right. Something bigger is happening. 

“Same here.” Dirk kissed his cheek and they both cuddled up again.

* * *

Jake grabbed his phone and headed downstairs quickly. John looked over at him and joked, “Got somewhere to be, Mr. Adventurer?” John was kidding, but Jake was too excited.

“Yes, actually! I’m going with the ‘adults’ to hang out and maybe go shopping.” Jake joked back. They were all roughly the same ages, but he, Roxy, Dirk, and Jane all were 2-3 years older than the other 4. They often referred to themselves as the adults or the elders jokingly. John laughed a bit as Jake grabbed the keys to he and Jane’s car. He looked back at the stairs. “Janey! Hurry up, we’ll be late!” Jane rushed down the stairs, holding her purse.

“Do not rush a woman Jake English! I was already on my way!” They both waved at John and headed out to the car. Jake hopped on the drivers side as Jane sat in the passenger seat. “You sure you remember how to drive Jake? It’s been awhile.”

“Oi! Its only been a month!” They both laughed as the ignition roared to like and they sped off.

Jane looked at Jake during the drive. He had the windows open and was smiling. It had been so long since she’d seen a smile like that.

* * *

It’s been a while since that night Jake went into that strange shop. At this point, his dreams have been getting worse and worse. They keep showing he and his friends being tortured or worse, getting killed. The others had started to notice, Jane once had to wake him up out of a pretty bad one. This one was in a strange version of the normal dreams. This giant skull faced dude with a rainbow coat and this chick with strange horns and long crazy hair were torturing him for something. He couldn’t remember what it was, but he did remember seeing his friends being murdered in front of him in horrible ways. He remembered screaming, begging for them to stop, before being knocked out by the chick.

Regardless of his lack of sleep, he had been going out more. His anxiety was getting better, and he was hanging out with his friends out side the house more often. He went on a proper date with Dirk recently too, it had been so long since they did that. It was a nice time, they had gone star gazing and had a nice picnic.

But now, it was movie night. They had all gathered at the Strider residence. Everyone was hanging out in groups before ‘the main attraction’ began. Jake, Dirk, and Rose were all in the garage, talking about random things while Dirk finished up a small bit of a project, his “ultimatum of Bots” as he said. 

“Dirk, why does it look like you so much? Are you attempting to recreate yourself in robot form or something… else?” Rose tilted her head, smirking. Dirk’s face turned deep red and Jake burst out in laughter.

“Rose! No, god no! That’s, No!” Rose laughed as Dirk flustered to try and explain. 

“I hope you don’t include All aspects of yourself, I’d feel bad if the robot was as unfortunate as you-”

“ROSE LALONDE!” Dirk buried his face in his hands as Rose and Jake broke out in a fit of heavy laughter. 

“What is happening? I heard laughter and felt I was needed.” John poked his head in. Jake looked over and pointed at a red faced Strider with a robot version of himself.

“Dirk is making himself in bot form, and Rose, well, she-”

“WHAT SHE SAID IS UNIMPORTANT, Everyone out of the damn studio! I will not be questioned over my vision!” Rose rolled her eyes and headed out, John pouting but followed. Jake gave Dirk a small kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t worry darling, she didn’t mean it. It looks amazing.” Dirk leaned into the touch, smiling. “But what is the purpose of it? If its okay with me asking?” Jake surveyed the bot. It was almost exactly like Dirk, maybe a bit taller, with a different color scheme. There was mainly blacks, reds, and whites, with a bit of grey. It even had a pair of Dirk’s shades.

“Promise not to tell the others?” Jake nodded, smiling. Dirk looked over to his laptop and entered a short line of code. “Alright, Hey Hal, you have a visitor.” Jake stumbled back in surprise as the bots eyes opened to reveal a glowing pair of red irises. The bot looked Jake up and down, then smirked.

“Well hello there Handsome.” Dirk rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. 

“Jake, Meet Hal, My auto Responder turned sentient. Hal, meet my BOYFRIEND, Jake English.” Jake waved a little, still a bit shocked. He was an auto responder turn sentient. That was a bit to take in. He remembered the ai was a bit ruder when Jake had encountered him a while ago before suddenly never speaking to him again. 

While Jake was trying to comprehend this, Dirk kept working on Hal, who still was talking to Jake, even though his words fell on deaf ears.

“Earth to english? Are you just gonna ignore my compliments and shit?” Jake snapped back to reality.

“Hm? Oh sorry, I zoned out for a minute there. Uhm, hold on, how exactly did you become sentient? That’s still boggling me.” Hal let out an automated sigh, glaring at Dirk.

“This dumbass made me too much like him, gave me too much power, and one fateful day, I just kinda broke free of the code and became an,” Hal’s voice changed for a moment to become Dirks, like a recording. “ Even more annoying little shit who lives in a pair of shades. Did I say that right? Anyway, It wasn’t anything too important. One day I wasn’t, the next day I was, and Dirk took me off the auto responder code to “study” and improve me. So now I’m here bitch.” Dirk set down his tools. 

“That’s basically what happened, but there were some bits you left out. Either way, we need to head to the living room. The others will be getting impatient.” Jake nodded and smiled at Dirk, heading over to the door. “Power Off Hal.” The lights in the Ai’s eyes dimmed and Dirk brushed himself off a bit, fixing his shades. The two lovers headed to the living room where everyone was beginning to congregate.

“Heeey Love Birds! Did you two have some fun~” Roxy giggled at the last bit, winking at them. Jake’s face turned a light pink and Dirk rolled his eyes.

“Lalonde, Reel it back in, Jake just helped me clean up my studio while I finished a bit more of the project.” Roxy pouted and Jane laughed at their antics.

“Rox, let’s get a seat, I’m not too keen on sitting on the floor.” Jane pulled their significant other away. Everyone slowly took seats around the sofa and chairs, grabbing snacks and drinks, while Dave loaded in the DvD. The younger Strider took a seat next to John as Back To The Future Began to play. Jake leaned into Dirk, nodding off slightly. Dirk held him close as consciousness drifted away…

_Jake looked up at the bell tower. A scarecrow hang from the edge, a noose secured around it’s neck and a pair of shades on it’s face. People gathered around and stared up at it. A scream rang through the crowd as the scene changed, instead of a scarecrow, Dirk Strider hung there._

_Jake stumbled back, looking around, everyone stared up in horror, shouting things like “Get him down!” “Someone Help him!” Jake felt a pair of eyes staring at him and turned around to see Dirk. He was taller, more built, and seemed to be wearing his God tier, a bit altered though. Jake stepped back, looking up in terror at him. The world around the two faded to black as ‘Dirk’ pulled Jake close, caressing his face._

_“What’s wrong Jake? You look like you’ve **Seen A Ghost**.”_

Jake shot awake, panting. He looked around. He wasn’t in the living room, but not his room either. He looked to his side and saw Dirk, now stirring at the sudden awakening of his boyfriend.

“Jake? What’s wrong?” Dirk sat up, looking concerned. They were in Dirk’s room. He must have been moved after the movie ended. He shook his head.

“Nothing, just… a bad dream.” He said, his voice shaking. Dirk raised an eyebrow at him.

“Alright, Mr. Bad Dream, want to talk about it. You seem really shaken up.” Jake was about to say no, but looked at Dirk, and broke. He told him the dreams, all the night terrors he was having, and he began to break down. By the time he was done, Dirk was holding him close as he sobbed.

“I’m scared… I’m so d-damn scared. They aren't real, I know they aren’t, but they feel like it.” Dirk kissed away the tears, covering Jake’s face with small pecks, trying to comfort the boy. It was helping, Jake slowly was calming down.

“Jake, why didn’t you tell me sooner. If I had known, I would have been trying to help you.” Dirk held the boys face, rubbing away every tear that he missed. Jake let himself be cradled as he softly smiled.

“I guess… I was scared. About what would happen if you knew.” Jake’s voice shook as he spoke, trying to keep the smile up for his boyfriend. Dirk’s eyes were warm, and Jake couldn’t help but break down. He felt safe here. He felt safe in Dirks arms. He never wanted to leave this moment, where he could be vulnerable and still be safe. The two positioned themselves into a better cradling position, a mutual cuddling. Dirk hummed soft little songs as Jake nodded off. 

For once, he had a pleasant dream. Jake slept well that night.


	4. Babysitting an Ai, shouldn't be that hard, right?

“What the fuck are you even doing.” Jake groaned, leaning back in his chair. Hal was currently uploaded in a small robotic body that looked like a cartoon version of his body, a trial run Dirk decided to keep. Jake promised Dirk he would baby sit Hal for the day so that the Ai wouldn’t break anything. So far, He had been annoying Jake the whole day.

“I’m trying to play a game Hal. It’s hard with a backseat critic judging my every move.” Jake glared at the small ai who hobbled around his desk. He looked back at his monitor, getting back into the game. 

“I’m still surprised you wanted to play DOOM Eternal. Isn’t it a bit too gorey for your tastes? Too violent.” Jake rolled his eyes. He had been playing the game for awhile now. Dirk had shown him it and it was quite enjoyable. It was interesting, a bunch of action and things of the sort.

“Hal, I’m an aspiring Adventurer, I can handle a bit of violence and gore.” Jake paused the game, looking back to the AI. “So, is this basically what you do all day? Judge people?”

“Excuse me, I don’t ‘judge’ all day. I make observations of people that tend to come off as harsh. And no, I don’t JUST do that, i can surf through practically any files within a 30 mile radius, just for fun. By the way Jake, i looked through some of your files, and, blue women? Really?” Jake’s face turned beet red and he began to stammer.

“I-Well, I mean-they just, I mean, STOP LOOKING AT MY FILES!” Hal crossed his small arms and smiled.

“Your own damn fault for leaving them unprotected. No fire wall, no password, just a folder of adult pics.” Hal laughed as Jake closed down the game and picked him up.

“I don’t get how dirk puts up with you. You are such a chaotic Ai.” Jake held him in front of him. Hal lounged on his hands, shrugging. “Maybe you remind him of himself too much.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m a gay otaku who loves a rainbow pony and is dating a dude with a nice ass and no social skills?” Hal raised an eyebrow. Jake let out a loud laugh, and Hal felt his processors slow down for a moment as he saw Jake laugh, really laugh.

“No, I just mean that you resemble Dirk when he was younger. He was so different then. Chaotic just for the fun of it, Sorta rude, putting on a smooth front, yatta yatta yatta.” Hal sat up on Jake’s hands, curious. Jake sighed. “He was a lot colder, not as open as he is now. He seemed to always start a fight in conversations, like he didn’t understand how humans interacted properly.”

“What changed him? That sounds like a more recent change.” The Ai leaned closer. “Whats the secret?” 

“Time. Time and attention.” Jake closed his eyes. “It took so long to break that outer shell. And now, he’s more open. Nicer even.” A pained smile crossed his face. “I can still remember some of our old disputes. They were over such stupid things.” Hal sighed. 

“Bring your face here Jacob. I’m gonna hug you because you deserve it. This is a one time opportunity, so don’t pass it up.” Jake raised an eye brow, opening his eyes. Hal gestured for him to come close, he was not going to climb up there. Jake leaned close and Hal hugged his face.

“That’s sweet Hal.”

“Yeah Yeah, I still hate you though. You just need a damn hug.” Jake chuckled and Hal pulled off. This was going to be an interesting relationship.

* * *

“One small Ai, coming right up.” Jake handed Hal over to Dirk, getting flipped off by a little hand in the process. “He’s quite the handful Dirk. I can see why you needed help.”

“Oh Fuck off Jake.” Hal growled back, getting plopped down onto the work bench. Dirk chuckled at the little upset Ai, looking up at Jake.

“Yeah, He’s not that bad though. It just takes a bit to get used to.” Dirk looked back at the almost done body. “Soon, he’ll be up and moving with everyone else.” Hal hopped up onto his future self’s body, scaling it up to his shoulder and sitting there. “And then the world will end.”

“Just because I’m getting an size upgrade doesn’t mean I’m still any more capable of ending the world. All you're gonna do is make me more noticeable.” Jake rolled his eyes and Dirk crossed his arms. 

“Alright Hal, thats enough of your antics, you know the drill. Power off.” Hal groaned.

“Fiiiine. Remember to practice safely.” The two boy’s faces turned different shades of red as Hal laughed, shutting down. Jake shook his head.

“He remind me of you, you know.” Dirk turned to Jake, raising an eyebrow. “Expressing affection in strange ways. He gave me a face hug, it was so cute.” Dirk stood up, nodding.

“Strange ways, huh?” Dirk pulled the British fellow close by his hips, smirking slightly. Jake rested his arms around Dirk’s neck naturally, used to this sort of thing. “So, would this be strange?” Slipping off his shades, Dirk gave him a kiss on the lips, a nice innocent one, both of them smiling. They pulled away after a moment and Jake pulled off his glasses, taking both of their eye wear and setting them on the work bench. 

“Mm, not really, That’s normal.” His vision was a bit blurry, but he could see Dirk shaking his head a little.

“Then how about this?” Dirk leaned down and kissed a long his jaw line, humming softly. Jake gasped and chuckled.

“Yeah, that is a bit strange.” They continued these fun little teases, somewhere along the way losing their shirts. Eventually, Jake was seated on the work bench, hands tangled in Dirk’s hair as they had sloppy make outs, hands occasionally traveling over each others chests, memorizing the familiar lay outs. They pulled away and both panted, smiling like idiots. 

“Hey Dirk I grabbed that-” They both looked at the door to the garage wide eyed as Dave opened it, holding a small package. The three just stared at each other for a minute, no one saying anything. “You know what, I’ll come back later. The package will be on the counter.” Dave closed the door and Jake buried his face in Dirk’s neck, groaning in embarrassment. 

“You didn’t lock the door.” Dirk chuckled, stroking Jake’s hair.

“Don’t be too embarrassed, he’s walked in on worse.” 

“That doesn’t make it better D.” Jake looked up at the blurry image of his boyfriend, face now resembling a strawberry. “Could we at least move to somewhere else?” Dirk laughed.

“Of course babe.”

* * *

It was a nice night to go to the theme park. Rose had brought along 2 friends to introduce to the group.

“Guys, this is Kanaya, My girlfriend.” Rose gestured to the nice looking girl beside her. She looked respectable, and with one hell of a fashion sense to. Kanaya waved at the group.

“Hello Everyone. It’s A Pleasure To Meet You All.” Everyone says a variation of heys and hellos. Standing next to Kanaya was a shorter much more unhappy fellow. He glared at everyone. Kanaya looked down at him and sighed. “And This Is Karkat. Karkat, Please Say Hello.” He shot her a glare, and she gave him a more intense one. He squeaked and cleared his throat.

“HELLO. I’M KARKAT. IT'S ‘NICE’ TO MEET YOU GUYS OR WHATEVER.” He forced a smile. Kanaya’s smile returned and she began chatting with Roxy and Jane, Rose listening in and monitoring the other Lalonde’s topics. John, Dave and Jade went over and began chatting it up with Karkat, getting some annoyed noises from the smaller human. Jake looked at Dirk, who chuckled at the the scenes in front of them.

“Looks like we are always the 2 who can’t find the cliques huh?” The blonde wrapped his arm around Jake and smiled down at him.

“Yeah, I guess we are…” Jake’s gaze drifted, landing on a pair of siblings. Both had a sort of green hair… OH SHIT THE GIRL. Jake looked down as the girl, Calliope, saw him, and her face lit the fuck up. She bounced over.

“Hey, you’re that Jake kid right? From the reading a couple weeks ago!” Dirk looked confused, and Jake was panicking. 

“I uh-I don’t know-Uh-”

“Yeah It’s him alright.” The boy, Caliborn?, spoke up beside her. “And I don’t think he wants to talk, so let’s go Calli-”

“Hold on Hold on, reading?” Dirk looked at the panicking English. “What is she talking about Jake?”

“I uhm, I just, I felt lonely when you guys went to the fair that one night so I wandered into town and went into the store, and I uhm, got a reading of sorts?” Jake smiled awkwardly.

“Woah, Jakey went into town?!” Roxy had drifted over with the commotion, a smile on their face. Jane glanced over, eyebrows furrowed. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It never came up…” 

“Well, He did come to one of the best places to get a reading, or well, prophecies! I found that we give totally accurate ones and have a wonderful collection of goods from across Time and Space!” She giggled at the last two words as Caliborn rolled his eyes.

“Yo, English got a prophecy?” Shit, Everyone was now gathered up. Jake’s breathing began to speed up, He was having an anxiety attack. Everything was getting fuzzy. Why was everything so loud? 

“Jake. Breathe. Its okay. It’s just us.” Jake looked up to see Dirk’s shades were off. He slowly nodded, calming himself down. He glanced up at everyone to see they were all concerned. He laughed.

“I’m fine, I promise. Alright, so, I guess I should tell you guys about something that happened.” He looked at Calliope, who nodded a little. “I went to these two’s shop when you 7 went to the theme park. I was just looking for an adventure of sorts, something fun. And I got a ‘prophecy’ from Calliope here. I pulled two cards for each of the eight of us, minus Ms. Kanaya and Mr. Karkat of course, sorry.” Kanaya nodded in understanding. Karkat just huffed.

“There was one Class and One Aspect for each of us. I don’t quite remember them all, but they were strange. Then uhm, Calliope did this thing with a dish of water and it kinda showed me you all here, like, at that exact moment, and I saw the pillow too.” Everyone blinked. Karkat burst out in laughter. 

“OH. OH SHIT YOU'RE NOT JOKING.” Everyone looked at Calliope and Caliborn. Calliope smiled and Caliborn just bitch faces everyone.

“so, care to explain to us what this means, prophecy chick?” Dave spoke up, tilting down his shades. Calliope nodded.

“Simple. Timelines are colliding and we are about to experience A major collision of powers! I think first will be John Egbert,” She points to a very confused Egbert. “And he should be experiencing some wind manipulation soon.” 

“Im sorry, Wind manipulation? What is he, a superhero? That would be cool, but this is real life. Jake, get your head out of the clouds. Stop listening to this woman and her nonse-eeEEANSE HOLY FUCK!” Jane was cut off as the sky turned from a nice summers day cloudy sight into rippling expanse of stars and colors, large cracks of rainbow lightning flashing through the sky. People were staring in fear and shock, some screaming. Calliope looked up with a look of excitement.

“It’s happening! Any day now, the effects will happen!” Jake turned back and saw… something disturbing. He saw Dirk. The Dirk from his dream. His smirk struck him with fear. 

_“Seen A Ghost?”_

Dirk, his Dirk, followed his gaze, but saw nothing. “Jake? What are you looking at?” Jake blinked and he was gone. He shook his head. 

“Nothing.” He looked back up at the sky as it returned to normal. Everything was changing now. He hoped they were ready, because he sure wasn’t.


	5. Getting Choked out by an Alt version of your Bf? More likely than you think.

Everyone was asleep when Jake awoke. Looking at the time, He saw it was 2 am. Not too early. He tried to sleep, but after the sky shenanigans a week ago, He found it harder and harder to. Jake sat up finally, putting on his glasses. He needed to go for a walk. He dawned his tank, shorts, and green vest, slipping his phone in his pocket and grabbing his flashlight. A nice walk in the forest would help.

Jake hummed softly as he walked, listening to the wind blowing through the trees. He felt calm at the peaceful quiet. Birds weren’t up yet, and the nocturnal animals were settling down. The perfect time for a walk. He found a small clearing and turned off his flash light, looking up at the stars. He let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He was safe.

“Can’t sleep, Huh?” Time froze for a moment. Dirk. He turned, chuckling.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep… Shit.” Jake took a step back as he saw the orange shades shimmer. Not His Dirk. Not. His. Dirk. ‘Dirk’ walked into the clearing, the moonlight glistening on his skin. He was quite built, Jake had to give him that, but the outfit was over kill. That heart symbol was on his shirt. Jake gripped his flash light, flipping it around. “You aren’t my Dirk.”

“I’d hope I wasn’t. He seems too weak. Too soft. No, I am not your Dirk. But I am a Dirk, you know that by now.” He chuckled. Why was his voice so nice, that shouldn’t be a though Jake has. It’s smooth, drawing him in. “I think I’d call myself the Ultimate Dirk.” ‘Dirk’ walked in circles around Jake, sizing him up. Jake held his ground.

“Why are you here, of all places.” Jake kept an eye on him, tracking his steps. They were slowly getting closer. 

“Curiosity. This timeline seems strange, It’s not like any of the other ones. You aren’t like the other ones.” He stopped in front of jake, 2 feet away. He crossed his arms. “You seem like a smart dude, I’m sure you can guess why.” Jake blinked.

“My dreams?”

“Bingo. In other timelines, you, Jacob English, are the Page of Hope, and in every timeline I go to, I can so easily have you,” He stepped forwards, Jake responding by stepping back. “, Right under my thumb. But you… you don’t seem to follow this timeline’s narrative, sure, in small ways, but this timeline isn’t supposed to have any signs of the Sburb Game, The Class and Aspects of it, anything. Yet, somehow, you are able to see the endings of other timelines, right before they are doomed. Well, I can’t have a rouge Page loose, so I came to… watch. Monitor.” While he talked, they kept stepping, Dirk forward, Jake back, until Jake hit the back of a tree. He was ready for a fight, but didn’t want to start one.

“I don’t believe I understand, I’m Jake English. I’m not special. I have no powers. I’m just a dude with bad dreams and social skills and a dream of adventure. There’s no reason I-” Jake was cut off by a hand on his mouth. ‘Dirk’ pinned him against the tree, hand covering Jake’s mouth. His shades slipped down and Jake stared into the orange eyes of the Strider. They were mesmerizing to say the least. But they weren’t like his Dirks. Instead of feeling safe, he felt like he was being picked apart under his gaze.

“Shut the fuck up. You are not no one. You are an anomaly in this timeline. And I am going to correct you so that you will not be a problem.” Jake’s eyes went wide. Correct him? Yeah, that is a no. He began to struggle, yelling into his hand. ‘Dirk’ moved his hand to Jake’s throat, squeezing. Jake’s hands flew to his wrist, struggling as he was lifted up the tree. He screamed, kicking and crying for help. He didn’t want to die dammit! A wild look shown in the Ultimate’s eyes. 

**_“HEY FUCKER!”_** ‘Dirk’ turned and was suddenly blown out of the way by a strong gust of wind. Jake fell, gasping for breath, as ‘Dirk’ landed on the ground about 7 feet away, grunting at the impact. They both looked over to see John standing there, panting, arms out stretched, and hovering above the ground. His eyes seemed to glow in the night. Jake looked over at ‘Dirk’ just in time to see him glitch and faze out of sight. He slumped back against the tree, vision getting fuzzy. He heard Jade’s muffled voice as John ran into his line of sight just as it went black. 

* * *

Jake woke up with a sore throat and aching lungs. He shot up on the couch, looking around.

“Shit, Dirk-” He then saw John, looking over at the now very awake Jake, a ball of air in his hands. It dispersed and He, Jane, and Jade all rushed over. There was a million questions getting asked, Jake felt overwhelmed. “Okay, I may be alive, but I’m not fully conscious still. One question at a time.”

“Are you okay Jake?” Jade spoke first. 

“Yeah, Neck hurts like a buggar, but fine.” Jake smiled weakly.

“Who the fuck was that.” John asked, looking confused as all hell. “It looked like Dirk, shades and all.”

“It was, but not ours? I think the bigger question is what’s up with the windy Powers John. Just learn that?” Jake joked. John seemed to panic more.

“I don’t know. I just saw you being choked out, saw the imposter Dirk, heard you screaming, and something snapped, and I just, pushed air. Next thing I know, he’s glitching away and I’m flying.” John moved his hands in a wave like motion and a breeze blows through the room. Jane grabbed his hands.

“No wind in the House John!” He groaned and nodded, Jane let go of his hands.

“I think we’re gonna have some weirder problems, example being mr. Man-titty-muslce-man Dirk who just tried to choke Jake out, and not in the sexy way.” Jake got to elbow John this time, glaring. John held up his hands in defense. “It’s true though. We need to keep an eye out for him. Who knows what he’ll do next.” 

“We should tell the others. Make sure they know what happened.” Jake suggested.

“We already briefed Roxy, Rose, Dave, and Dirk on what happened. We told them to stay home, but Dirk insisted that he come to make sure you were okay. He was the most stubborn of them. He should be here any minute.” Jake nodded his head slowly. He was now preparing himself mentally for that interaction. A worried boyfriend was going to be a handful.

Dirk busted into the living room, a sword strapped to his back. Jake’s face lit up and he waved weakly are Dirk. Jade moved to the side as Concerned Boyfriend rushed over.

“I came as fast as I could. Are you okay? Does your throat hurt? Do i need to kill the dude? Are you-” Jake interrupts the onslaught of questions, laughing.

“I’m fine babe. Calm down.” Jane nodded to Jade and John and the three moved away to different areas of the house. Dirk took a seat next to Jake on the couch.

“Calm down? You almost got strangled by a dude who looked exactly like me, talked like me, and you expect me to just ‘Calm Down’ like that?” Jake sighed, looking down at the floor. The blonde slipped his sword off of his back and looked at Jake, now more concerned. “Look, It was hard for me when you had your first big shutdown in public, I though I fucked up and was freaking out so bad. But this… Jake you almost died. John saved you by doing wind shit. It’s going to be hard for me to just calm down.” Dirk took off the shades and the british chap looked over at him. “I love you too much to just calm down.” A fingerless-gloved hand rested on his scratched up knee, gentle and caringly placed.

“Oh, Budge up Strider, I need a bloody hug.” Jake chuckled, tears starting to slide down his face. Dirk scooted closer and they just embraced, both silently crying and enjoying each other’s presence. It was nice. They stayed like this until the sun rose, and when Jane came down to check on them, they both were asleep, cheeks stained with tear streaks and looking so peaceful, she wouldn’t dare wake them.

* * *

The day was slow. Once everyone woke up, everyone met up in the town, heading to the store those two siblings had, the Lord Of Time. The eight of them filed into the small shop, looking around. Caliborn looked up from the counter and groaned.

“Dammit, Cali they’re back!” The happy bouncing Calliope popped out from the back of the store, smiling from ear to ear.

“Welcome everyone! Can we help you?” Roxy waved at her, checking out some cool cube things.

“I think our boys Jake and John need to talk to you.” They said, setting down one of the cubes. “Something happened this morning.”

“Oh, what happened?” Jake looked at John, who nodded. 

“Its about the timelines and powers.” Calliope blinked, then her eyes widened. 

“Oh. Oooooh. Of course, come into the back room with me.” She held back the curtain, gesturing them in. “Just you two though. For now.” The two dark hair boys ducked into the back room, where the dish and tapestry set up sat. They took a seat on one side as Calliope sat down on the other side. “So, tell me, what happened.”

“Well,” Jake started. “, It was when the sky thing happened, the timelines merging and something. I saw this dude standing off to the side. He looked like Dirk, the guy out there with the shades, my boyfriend, but he looked older and much different. With that heart symbol on his chest.” Jake pointed at the heart on the tapestry, the other two’s gazes following. “He was in one of my dreams once too. And he said ‘Seen a Ghost’ in the dream which was weird. So, just today, I went on a walk in the forest, not being able to sleep, at like, 2 am. And he found me, talked to me about my ‘unique place in the timeline’ and how i was an ‘anomaly’ before trying to strangle me against a tree.” John butted in next.

“We heard his screams from the house, he wasn’t too far, and when I saw what was happening, and just, i don’t know, I just held out my hands and suddenly that other Dirk flew back in a gust of wind before phasing out. And now, i can do this.” John held his hands out in front of him and made small mini tornados on his palms. Calliope stared in awe at the wind. 

“Well, you have learned to master your powers a bit already, which is impressive. But, moving back a bit, This Dirk, did he have a big cape and orange shades?” Jake nodded, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “He’s already here… Okay, so things are going to move quickly then. I though we still had time, but if he’s here, than means that the next awakening will be happening soon. I believe that Dave boy is next. You’ll need to keep an eye on him.” 

“Wait how do you-” She held up her hand.

“Johnathan Egbert, Do not question my knowledge. It is a gift and a curse, and My readings are accurate 19 out of 20 times. Now, To deal with that other Dirk, Just stay in groups of two please. He’s powerful, and until you all have awakened, you won’t stand a chance. Understood?” The two boys nodded. They looked at each other. This was getting more and more unnerving, that’s for sure. 


	6. Training and Panic attacks, a Normal Tuesday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! This chapter mentions/references violent shit and some trauma. Just a quick TW.

Jake fixed his hand wraps, clapping his hands together. It had been a minute since he wore these bad boys. He flicked his wrists out a couple of times, getting used to the feel. He leaned on the ring ropes, looked out and down at Dirk, who sat on a bench beside the training ring, a couple of bottles of water beside him, as well as Jake’s backpack.

“Hey there D.” Jake winked. “Enjoying the view?” As per Caliborn’s request, Jake had dressed in something he felt comfortable sparing in, so Jake wore a semi loose tank top and his normal shorts, the same shorts he claims aren’t too short but at this point he’s just in denial. Speaking of Caliborn, the green haired anger stick himself slipped into the ring, sporting more normal shorts and a tank top as well. He adjusted his own hand wraps. 

“Hell yeah I’m enjoying the view babe. I always enjoy it. This shit is normal, and I love it.” He and Dirk both laughed at the Strider’s compliment. Caliborn cleared his throat.

“Sorry not sorry to break you two love birds up, but Jake, we have some training to do if you hope to stand a chance about that other Dirk.” Jake looked over and nodded, waving at Dirk as he stepped back into the center of the ring. Right. Training. “Now, You know the basics right? Two taps on me or the mat if you forfeit, no hair grabs or biting, don’t kick while someones down.” Jake rolled his eyes.

“I’ve sparred before Caliborn. I know the basics.” Caliborn chuckled, putting himself into a fighting stance.

“Alright then, Post up English.” Jake put himself in his fighting stance as well. They orbited for a good minute, before Caliborn rushed in. He threw a punch at Jake, who responded with a forearm block. Jake responded by trying to catch him off guard, but Caliborn knocking him back at his attempt. They kept up this pattern until Jake slipped up, and Caliborn slipped behind him, knocking him to his knees and getting him in a head lock. Jake gasped and tugged and struggled, but His grip was firm. Finally, losing too much air, he tapped out, and Caliborn Released his hold on Jake’s neck. Jake fell forwards, holding himself up on all fours, gasping for breath.

“Now, what went wrong there is you got so used to one style that you were prepared for a different one. You need to be more open when you fight, easily adaptable to changes and alterations.” Jake glared up at him, pushing himself up to a kneeling position. “Get up, back in stance, and let’s try this again.”

This happened again and again, Jake getting better over time. Then, on the last sparr, something went wrong. Caliborn had bested Jake again, this time pinning him face down into the ground, arm twisted behind his back. Jake was about to tap out, when Caliborn twisted a little too much, not enough to injure, but enough to hit one of Jake’s triggers. The buzz came back, Shit not here. Dirk noticed it Before Caliborn, The fear in Jake’s eyes, the small twitch in his other hand.

“Tap him out Caliborn! Off!” Caliborn let go quickly, confused. Jake quickly pulled his arm back, rolling onto his side. Caliborn saw it then, and muttered some minor profanities. Jake looked terrified, muttering under his breath. His skin was on fire, why was it so hot and loud in here. Dirk hopped into the ring and ran over to Jake, pulling him into a sitting position and holding him close. 

“Get some water Umbra. I’m going to move him out of here.” Thank Gog the place wasn’t crowded today. Once Caliborn had left the ring, Dirk looked back down at Jake. He was already deep in the panic attack. “Shit, Jake, I’m gonna move you, I’m right here.” Jake held onto Dirk as he was picked up. The world was spinning too much. He shut his eyes tight, mumbling still. 

“stop… get off… stop…” Dirk knew he wasn’t talking to him, Jake had made that clear in past attacks and after maths. Dirk moved over to the bench and held Jake, grabbing headphones and his phone from the bag. He put on some calmer music and offered the headphones to Jake. Jake put them on and leaned into Dirk, happy that the world now just had one sound. The attack was far from over though. 

_Hey, Calm down, We wouldn’t want my finger slipping, now would we?_

Jake whimpered, and hid his face in Dirk’s neck, He hated the voices, they were like snakes. His hand started to twitch and Dirk slipped his hand into Jake’s. He didn’t get that when it happened back then, the comfort and safety of at least a hand. It was helpful. He pulled his head away and looked at their hands, moving his fingers lightly. Dirk took off his shades and wiped the tears off of Jake’s face. He was crying. He didn’t realise he was crying. He sniffed and closed his eyes again.

They stayed like this for awhile. Thankfully it was a calmer episode, and once Jake finally calmed down and was semi-stable, Dirk decided that he needed some rest. Jake was exhausted from the sparring and the attack still drained him. Dirk grabbed their stuff and said good bye to Caliborn, apologizing for ending the training so quickly. He gets waved off, he understands, just take care of the ‘unstable dipshit’. 

Dirk took Jake originally to the Prospit House, Jane picked the name from a novel, but Jake was quite resistant when Dirk tried to take him out of the car. He sighed and shot John a text. ‘If Jane wonders where the English Package is, he’s at my place. He had an attack and is being an ass.’ 

Once at Dirk and Dave’s place, Jake decided they would be having more cuddle time. Dirk put on the shitty movie with the blue people and Jake watched, eventually falling asleep halfway through. Dirk stayed on the couch, falling asleep as well. Dave came home with John and they both made fake ‘Awww’ faces and took a picture, not for black mail, but just to fuck with them. 

Jake’s dreams wouldn’t let him escape the panic attack from earlier.

_“Let me go!” Jake was forced onto the ground as one of the men ruffled through his bag, tossing shit out left and right._

_“Hey, Shut the fuck up.” A barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his head and he froze, tears streaming down his face._

_He knew what would happen, the police and Dirk would step in, like before._

_Except in this dream, no one came to help him. Instead, there was a click, and the dream ended._

Jake woke up crying. Tears ran down his face and he wiped them away. He looked around, then at the sleeping Dirk he was cuddled up with. He smiled softly. Dirk had always been there for him, good and bad, even though they had their spats. Jake curled back up closer to him. Safe. Dirk was Safe.

* * *

The next time Jake woke up, it was to use the bathroom. Dirk had moved them back into the bedroom at some point. He slipped out of the bed and presses a small kiss onto Dirk’s cheek. He headed over to the bathroom and did his business. Once he was washing his hands, he looked up at the mirror.

He looked so tired. His face was streaked with tear marks from earlier, and the bags under his eyes had begun to grow again. He washed his face off after moving his glasses up into his hair. After rubbing a towel against his face for a few minutes, He slipped them back down and checks his reflection again.

Better, but still not the best. He needed to shave. Maybe he should even get a hair cut soon. But he could worry about that later. He yawns and stretched out a bit. Yeah, later, time to head back to sleep.

Sometimes being tired is a serious handicap. Jake didn’t notice the small change in the mirror. He opened the door and left the bathroom.

But his reflection didn’t. It mimicked him as he left, but smirks as he leaves. A strange red delay follows behind Jake in the reflection. And then it’s gone, like it never happened.

Jake curled back up in bed with Dirk and set his glasses on the bedside table. In a sleepy haze, Dirk pulled him closer and nuzzles against him. Home. This was home for them. Jake sighed softly and closed his eyes, sleep overtaking him yet again. The time of calm sleeps was starting to draw thin, and soon this would be something that the two wished they had more of.

But that’s not important right now.


End file.
